Here are some key points to include: - Nutrients cycle through the ecosystem via decomposition of organic matter and uptake by plants and animals - Leaves, dead animals etc fall to the forest floor and are broken down by decomposers like fungi and bacteria - Nutrients are recycled back into the soil and taken up again by plants - Cutting down trees breaks this cycle - nutrients are lost from the system when timber is removed - Without trees, rainfall washes nutrients out of the exposed soil - Over time the soil becomes depleted and unable to support plant growth You could draw arrows showing the nutrient flow between components like trees, decomposers, soil, animals etc. Label each step in the cycle and explain

1. TRF
Vegetation

2. Starter
Look at the pictures above.
Which is the odd one out?
Why?

3. Lesson Objectives
• What is the rainforest vegetation like?
• How has the rainforest vegetation
adapted to the climate?
Here

4. Pg 50
How have these leaves
adapted to the climate?

5. What is the rainforest vegetation like?
Rainforest vegetation is extremely
diverse . In the Kakamega
rainforest in Kenya there may be
300 plant species in 1sq km.
Trees, have an evergreen
appearance but are in fact
deciduous due to the year round
growing season.(remember it is
hot and wet throughout the year)
Epiphytes are plants which do not
have their roots in the soil. They
grow on trunks, branches and
even the leaves of trees and
shrubs

6. Guam Fruit
This fruit is from the
Guam tree. It has a
long pod which when
twisted by hand
reveals a white fleshy
covered seed. The
white flesh tastes
like marshmallow and
is delicious!

7. Buttress Roots
These are roots
above the ground
that help stabilise
the tall trees that
ground straight and
would easily topple
over without their
support. They are
above the ground as
only the top layer of
soil is very fertile.
Unlike our trees
they don’t need deep
root systems.

8. Starter
Under Canopy
Shrub Layer
Emergents
Canopy

9. TASK
On the picture of a TRF, cut and stick the animals in the part f the
rainforest where you think you will find them.
– CLUES
To do this consider what they eat
(where do you find it?)
What eats it (where do you find it?)
There are lots of books
to help you. Interactions
page 10 is very good!

10. Which part of the TRF is this?

11. Which part of the TRF is this?

12. Which part of the TRF is this?

13. Which part of the TRF is this?

15. Learning Objectives
To use IT to locate what layer certain animals in a rainforest live.
To describe why any particular animal lives in that layer of the rainforest

16. Layers BBC: Here
BBC rainforests : Here

18. Learning Objectives
What is the rainforest nutrient cycle?
What happens to the nutrient cycle when you
clear the rainforests?

19. What is the rainforest nutrient cycle?

20. What is the rainforest nutrient cycle?
So what happens if we cut down the trees?

21. Task
• Draw and annotate the nutrient cycle
• Explain what happens if the cycle is
broken